Tomorrow is the release of Fee’s new album “Hope Rising”. I’ve been listening to it for several weeks now and it is an amazing collection of songs that will bring you into the presence of God. Every song is filled with passion and energy.

I am giving away an autographed copy of this CD along with a $5 Starbucks gift card. I’ll mail the goods right to your doorstep.

Here is how to enter…

1. Tweet this… Click here to ReTweet this contest.

2. Leave a comment letting me know that you want to enter the contest.

3. Subscribe to MistakeMaker.com if you haven’t already.

That’s all there is to it! On Friday (Oct. 9th) I’ll pick a winner using…Random.org and post the winner here. Thanks for entering!

WINNER!!! The winner of this contest is Jon Damon. Congrats Jon!

If a movie was made about your life today, what kind of movie would it be? Would it make it to the box office or would there be like one copy of it somewhere on the bottom shelf at Blockbuster? Would the movie be full of twists and turns, risks and triumphs, or would it be humdrum, boring, and safe? Would your life story cause people to stand up and take notice or fall asleep in the theater? Donald Miller was faced with this same question. After writing a best-selling book, he found himself in a funk that had him depressed, lonely, and unmotivated to even get out of bed. After two movie producers approached him about basing a movie on his life story, he is confronted with the reality that his life’s narrative is dull and lackluster. Faced with this reality, he sets out to edit his life story and turn it into a story that is filled with beauty, meaning, and passion. Be prepared to walk with Don through a raw, messy, and intimate journey of his life transformation.

I read a lot of books that are ok. I read a few books that are good. Even fewer that are very good. And every few years I find a book that I can’t get out of my head. It stays with you. It forces you to change. Not in a pushy way, but in an incredibly challenging way.  A Million Miles In A Thousand Years is a “once in a few years” kinda book. It just might be the book that will push you to do something with that dream that has been laying dorment inside of you for years and years. Run, don’t walk to the book store to buy this book. Better yet, just click this link to order it. You won’t be dissappointed…trust me.

The difficulty of marriage is one thing that we drastically underestimate. I think most engaged & newly wed couples completely ignore the inevitable pitfalls. I know I did. Why plan for a pothole when you’re on a freshly paved smooth highway…right?

We did the whole pre-marriage counseling thing. We had no choice if we wanted the pastor to marry us. Honestly, the only thing I can remember is the awkward moment when he gave us the Christian sex book complete with poorly drawn illustrations. Oh, I also remember the advice he gave us if we struggled getting pregnant.

Awkward.

Oh, you want to hear the advice…I guess I can share it here…for my wife, it was place a pillow under her backside after sex to give the swimmers a down hill head start. For me, it was wear boxers instead of briefs so the swimmers have plenty of breathing room.

I told you it was awkward.

I digress.

The point is, I ignored much of the wisdom that was shared in our pre-marital counseling because it was hard for me to imagine that the road would turn ugly. But it did…it always does. And if it hasn’t yet…it will….promise.

The ice cream melts.

And when it does, it gets sticky.

If we know the ice cream is going to melt, let’s prepare for it.

One of the things that I think every couple needs to find, is another couple that is a few miles further down the road than they are.

For us, it means finding a Godly couple in ministry that has gone through the teenage years and still has a vibrant marriage.

What does it look like for you?

Maybe it’s finding a Godly couple that has a special needs child that’s a little further down the road than you.

Or finding a Godly couple that has struggled with infertility issues longer than you have.

Notice I said a “Godly” couple, not a “Perfect” couple. What do I mean by “Godly”? I mean a couple that realizes that they are NOT perfect and they need the grace & mercy of Christ in their lives. They strive to live out a God-centered life fueled by the power of the Holy Spirit.

There is a couple out there that has been where you are. Find them. Ask them if they would be a marriage mentor to you. Watch them. Ask them questions. Find out what they do to keep their marriage alive. Find out how they handle disagreements.

And do what they say…seriously!

How much is your marriage worth?

Lick the rocky road before it melts.

What do you do to prepare for the rocky road in your marriage? Let’s hear it.

1

1

I saw this video today and I couldn’t help but think of our relationship with our heavenly Father.

He lavishes His love on us.

He reaches out and hands us a priceless gift.

And we often throw it away.

We don’t recognize the value of the gift. We don’t realize the extent of the sacrifice.

When we miss the extent of the sacrifice, we drastically cheapen the worth of the gift.

The amazing thing is that when we throw away the gift, our Father wraps His loving arms around us and still calls us His child. He gently brings us back to Himself. He’s disappointed for sure, but He hasn’t given up on us.

There is nothing that we can do to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus.

Father, remind us of your great sacrifice for us. Remind us of the extent of your love. And may we take hold of the prize that you have given to us and may it change the way that we live for you.

This is a recent picture captured by the Hubble telescope of what is known as the Butterfly Nebula. The wings of the butterfly are actually gases that are escaping from this dying star. The wingspan of this planetary Nebula stretches for about 2 light years wide or a mind blowing 1,341,233,258.4 miles. The gases that have escaped from this star are ripping through space at a speed of about 600,000 miles per hour. Traveling at that speed, we could reach the moon in just 24 minutes. This amazing star is 23,514,501,492,734,432 miles away from planet Earth.

I think about the picture of God’s holiness that Isaiah saw at the beginning of his ministry in Isaiah chapter 6. Imagine the grandeur of the Temple. There was nothing like it. It was huge. It was glorious. You could not help but think about the majesty of God as you entered the temple. In Isaiah’s vision, the seraphim’s angelic song echoed off of the canyon-like walls of the temple as they sang “Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God Almighty.

The more that we learn about the vastness of our Universe, the deeper the echo of Holy, Holy, Holy should resound. His vastness cannot be contained within our Universe, but yet His love reaches down to me in the most intimate of ways.

Let the vastness of God’s glory echo off of the walls of your Temple, your body. Let His robe fill your temple. Let your life constantly sing Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God Almighty. The whole earth and beyond is filled with His glory!